Carpenter Salary, Adjusted for Cost of Living
Carpenters earn the most in Hawaii ($85,280/yr) — but once you adjust for what a dollar actually buys there, Hawaii drops to #2, and Illinois pays the most real money ($79,033 in U.S.-average buying power).
| # | State | Nominal / yr | Cost of living | Real pay / yr | COL shift |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Illinois | $79,000 | 100 | $79,033 | ▲ 1 | |
| Hawaii | $85,280 | 110 | $77,562 | ▼ 1 | |
| Alaska | $73,860 | 102 | $72,158 | ▲ 3 | |
| Massachusetts | $75,200 | 106 | $71,106 | — | |
| Washington | $74,190 | 107 | $69,328 | — | |
| California | $75,920 | 111 | $68,569 | ▼ 3 | |
| Indiana | $62,870 | 93 | $67,364 | ▲ 5 | |
| New York | $72,330 | 108 | $67,021 | ▼ 1 | |
| Missouri | $60,840 | 91 | $66,992 | ▲ 13 | |
| Minnesota | $64,930 | 99 | $65,838 | ▼ 2 | |
| Iowa | $57,710 | 88 | $65,757 | ▲ 20 | |
| Ohio | $60,810 | 93 | $65,546 | ▲ 12 | |
| Wisconsin | $61,660 | 94 | $65,530 | ▲ 7 | |
| North Dakota | $57,890 | 89 | $65,075 | ▲ 16 | |
| New Mexico | $59,720 | 92 | $64,764 | ▲ 10 | |
| Michigan | $61,680 | 96 | $64,105 | ▲ 3 | |
| Maine | $62,160 | 97 | $64,049 | — | |
| Vermont | $62,400 | 98 | $63,701 | ▼ 3 | |
| Kansas | $56,960 | 90 | $63,241 | ▲ 13 | |
| Nevada | $62,380 | 100 | $62,393 | ▼ 4 | |
| Montana | $58,820 | 95 | $62,148 | ▲ 7 | |
| Connecticut | $64,060 | 104 | $61,828 | ▼ 13 | |
| Wyoming | $56,850 | 93 | $61,333 | ▲ 10 | |
| Colorado | $62,830 | 103 | $60,969 | ▼ 10 | |
| Pennsylvania | $59,370 | 98 | $60,847 | ▲ 1 | |
| Oregon | $62,870 | 103 | $60,826 | ▼ 13 | |
| Maryland | $62,960 | 105 | $59,985 | ▼ 16 | |
| Rhode Island | $60,840 | 102 | $59,484 | ▼ 5 | |
| Delaware | $59,200 | 100 | $59,314 | ▼ 2 | |
| New Jersey | $64,010 | 109 | $58,830 | ▼ 20 | |
| New Hampshire | $61,200 | 104 | $58,753 | ▼ 10 | |
| Kentucky | $52,680 | 90 | $58,430 | ▲ 3 | |
| Arizona | $58,580 | 101 | $58,186 | ▼ 4 | |
| Louisiana | $49,920 | 88 | $56,594 | ▲ 7 | |
| District of Columbia | $61,710 | 110 | $56,151 | ▼ 17 | |
| Mississippi | $48,650 | 87 | $55,950 | ▲ 11 | |
| Nebraska | $50,320 | 90 | $55,847 | ▲ 3 | |
| Tennessee | $50,830 | 92 | $55,328 | — | |
| Virginia | $55,690 | 101 | $55,082 | ▼ 5 | |
| Arkansas | $47,760 | 87 | $54,936 | ▲ 10 | |
| Idaho | $52,000 | 96 | $54,454 | ▼ 4 | |
| West Virginia | $48,710 | 90 | $54,426 | ▲ 4 | |
| South Dakota | $48,140 | 89 | $54,343 | ▲ 6 | |
| Alabama | $48,220 | 89 | $54,288 | ▲ 4 | |
| South Carolina | $50,670 | 94 | $54,049 | ▼ 6 | |
| Oklahoma | $46,910 | 88 | $53,402 | ▲ 5 | |
| Utah | $52,360 | 99 | $52,962 | ▼ 11 | |
| North Carolina | $49,100 | 94 | $52,054 | ▼ 4 | |
| Georgia | $49,350 | 96 | $51,250 | ▼ 6 | |
| Texas | $48,900 | 97 | $50,383 | ▼ 5 | |
| Florida | $49,870 | 103 | $48,224 | ▼ 9 |
How to read this
Nominal pay is the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) median wage for carpenters in each state. Real pay divides that by the state's cost of living (BEA Regional Price Parity, U.S. average = 100), so it reflects what the salary is actually worth locally. A state with high nominal pay but high costs can rank lower on real pay than a cheaper state — that's the COL shift column.
Methodology: nominal medians from U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) (May 2025 release); cost of living from the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis Regional Price Parities (all items, 2024). Real pay = nominal ÷ (RPP ÷ 100). Cite as “WageAtlas Real Pay Index.”
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